Perspectives from a Psych-Oncology Team Working with Teenagers and Young Adults with Cancer: Thrown Off Course

190 Pages·2023·1.957 MB·English

by  Jane Elfer

‘This book is an essential read for any health professional working in the
field of teenage and young adult cancer. It provides an exceptional combi-
nation of published evidence alongside personal and honest reflections of
experts in this field. A range of thought-provoking case studies beautifully
illustrate the complexity of supporting young people through their cancer
journey and at last provides some practical advice for health professionals.
Thank you for a much needed and wonderful book!’
Rachael Hough, consultant haematologist, University College
London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and professor of
Haematology and Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation,
University College London
‘This comprehensive book traces the huge developments in the field of
psych-oncology, identifying the apparent lack of psychological services for
teenagers with cancer, and revealing the stigma around mental health in
this area. Across its chapters, the book usefully describes the fundamen-
tal theoretical approaches, and differences therein, of psychotherapists,
psychologists, and psychiatrists, to clarify the unique skills required when
working in teenage and young adult psych-oncology. This includes a vivid
survey of the challenges facing adolescents with cancer, exploration of
the therapeutic relationship with young people who know they are dying,
understanding trauma and the ‘late effects’ of childhood cancer, as well as
the ways in which practitioners can support patients and their families to
sustain hope in the midst of despair.’
Dorothy Judd, child and adolescent psychotherapist
and adult psychotherapist
‘This is an excellent and thought-provoking book which should be read
widely by those interacting with adolescents and young adults with experi-
ence of cancer. Each chapter provides a holistic review of a particular area
of psych-oncology which, using considered and diverse vignettes, profes-
sional reflections and evidenced based practice, brings to life the reality
of adolescent and young adult cancer care. Clearly laid out and accessible
this is a valuable first in addressing the important relationships between
mind and body in the context of a key life stage with compassion and
practicality.’
Louise Soanes, chief nurse, Teenage Cancer Trust

PERSPECTIVES FROM A PSYCH-ONCOLOGY
TEAM WORKING WITH TEENAGERS AND
YOUNG ADULTS WITH CANCER
Exploring the work of a Psych-Oncology Team in an inpatient and outpatient setting,
this powerful, interesting, and engaging book is about teenagers and young adults
diagnosed with cancer.
As part of the few multidisciplinary teams of this type in the United Kingdom, the
authors offer helpful insights into supporting young people and their families as
they navigate this complex and devastating disease, writing on key areas such as
trauma, the effects of early childhood cancer in adolescence and beyond, the social
and cultural effects of cancer treatment, hope, and hopelessness, and questions
of mortality. Each chapter contains a mixture of clinical reflections and patient
vignettes, along with clear guidance about how to support patients and their families
both during and after treatment, and at the point of death too.
With a compassionate approach to understanding the challenges for patients,
their families, and clinicians alike, this is a book for nurses, doctors, occupational
therapists, and physiotherapists, for parents and carers, and for young people who
find themselves in this position and who can easily feel as though they are alone
with their overwhelming feelings.
Jane Elfer is a child and adolescent psychotherapist. She worked at UCLH for 18
years, working in all paediatric departments but mainly in the paediatric cancer
services. Prior to this, she had worked in CAMHS, social care, the NSPCC, and
primary schools. Her professional doctorate looks at the emotional impact of
adolescents donating bone marrow to a sibling. Since retiring from the NHS, she
continues to work with children and young people, her professional body, and a
charity for children in hospital.
Tavistock Clinic Series
Margot Waddell, Jocelyn Catty, & Kate Stratton (Series Editors)
Titles in the Tavistock Clinic Series include:
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by Alison Roy
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Child Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in Primary Schools: Tavistock Approaches, edited by
Katie Argent
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Conjunctions: Social Work, Psychoanalysis, and Society, by Andrew Cooper
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the Group, edited by Aleksandra Novakovic
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Practice, edited by Margaret Cohen & Alberto Hahn
Group Relations and Other Meditations: Psychoanalytic Explorations on the Uncertainties of
Experiential Learning, by Carlos Sapochnik
Inside Lives: Psychoanalysis and the Growth of the Personality, by Margot Waddell
Internal Landscapes and Foreign Bodies: Eating Disorders and Other Pathologies, by Gianna
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by Susan Sherwin-White
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Margaret Rustin & Michael Rustin
On Adolescence: Inside Stories, by Margot Waddell
Organization in the Mind: Psychoanalysis, Group Relations, and Organizational Consultancy,
by David Armstrong, edited by Robert French
Psychoanalysis and Culture: A Kleinian Perspective, edited by David Bell
Researching the Unconscious: Principles of Psychoanalytic Method, by Michael Rustin
Sexuality and Gender Now: Moving Beyond Heteronormativity, edited by Leezah Hertzmann &
Juliet Newbigin
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Manual, edited by Jocelyn Catty
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Sustaining Depth and Meaning in School Leadership: Keeping Your Head, edited by Emil
Jackson & Andrea Berkeley
Talking Cure: Mind and Method of the Tavistock Clinic, edited by David Taylor
The Anorexic Mind, by Marilyn Lawrence
The Learning Relationship: Psychoanalytic Thinking in Education, by Biddy Youell
Therapeutic Care for Refugees: No Place Like Home, edited by Renos Papadopoulos
Therapeutic Interventions with Babies and Young Children in Care: Observation and
Attention, by Jenifer Wakelyn
Thinking Space: Promoting Thinking about Race, Culture, and Diversity in Psychotherapy
and Beyond, edited by Frank Lowe
Turning the Tide: A Psychoanalytic Approach to Mental Illness. The Work of the Fitzjohn’s
Unit, edited by Rael Meyerowitz & David Bell
Understanding Trauma: A Psychoanalytic Approach, edited by Caroline Garland
Waiting to Be Found: Papers on Children in Care, edited by Andrew Briggs
“What Can the Matter Be?”: Therapeutic Interventions with Parents, Infants, and Young
Children, edited by Louise Emanuel & Elizabeth Bradley
Young Child Observation: A Development in the Theory and Method of Infant Observation,
edited by Simonetta M. G. Adamo & Margaret Rustin
PERSPECTIVES FROM
A PSYCH-ONCOLOGY
TEAM WORKING WITH
TEENAGERS AND YOUNG
ADULTS WITH CANCER
Thrown Off Course
Edited by
Jane Elfer
D esigned cover image: LEARNING TO THINK X, 2021, Blood on paper, 19.2 x 14.1
cm © Antony Gormley. Sir Antony Gormley shared the following description when
he kindly provided permission to republish the image on the cover of this book: “a
youth between sky and earth but rooted: vulnerable but alert, alive and looking out.”
F irst published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
a nd by Routledge
6 05 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
R outledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Jane Elfer; individual chapters, the contributors;
together with The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
The right of Jane Elfer to be identifed as the author of the editorial material, and
of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identifcation and explanation without intent to
infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Elfer, Jane, 1953– editor.
Title: Perspectives from a psych-oncology team working with teenagers and
young adults with cancer : thrown off course / edited by Jane Elfer.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2023. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifers: LCCN 2022038564 (print) | LCCN 2022038565 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781032351353 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032351360 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003325475 (ebook)
Subjects: MESH: Neoplasms—psychology | Psycho-Oncology—methods |
Cancer Survivors—psychology | Stress, Psychological—therapy |
Terminal Care—psychology | Adolescent | Young Adult
Classifcation: LCC RC271.M4 (print) | LCC RC271.M4 (ebook) |
NLM QZ 260 | DDC 616.99/40651—dc23/eng/20230125
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022038564
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022038565
ISBN: 978-1-032-35135-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-35136-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-32547-5 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003325475
Typeset in Palatino
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
This book is dedicated to all of the children, teenagers,
young adults, and parents who have been treated at
UCLH, regardless of whether or not they used our service

CONTENTS
SERIES EDITORS’ PREFACE xi
A BOUT THE EDITOR AND CONTRIBUTORS xv
PREFACE xvii
Introduction 1
Jane Elfer
1 Overview: cancer in teenagers and young adults
and psycho-oncology 7
Mike Groszmann
2 The cancer journey 35
Mike Groszmann
3 Adolescents with cancer: a journey interrupted 46
Jane Elfer
4 Keeping young adults with cancer connected:
a psychologist’s refections 62
Anna Galloway
ix